Leadership skills like any other needs effort to sharpen. I definitely don't have it all figured out and the subject continues to evolve as expectations of leaders change, as our social values change and a company's culture changes with it.
Let's be honest... we bucket people into categories to help us speed up processing... it's our human limitation and shortcut. What we should remember is this is the starting point, and we need to start at the category and adjust as needed.
Let's have fun with this topic and make it more fun to discuss. Imagine your employees as game characters in an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing games). Which character class are they most like? What do they need from you to achieve their potential?
Let's start with your role and assume you are the invisible hand directing all the characters and not a character yourself. Your responsibilities are to focus on:
Set and monitor the plan. You need to look forward... ahead of the pack. You are leading the way. If you are "heads down" helping with tactical tasks you could be running in the wrong direction or worse towards a cliff.
Create an environment to let each person's personal spark of motivation burn bright (para-phrasing Frederick Herzberg Source: https://quotepark.com/quotes/1801434-frederick-herzberg-its-the-job-of-the-manager-not-to-light-the-fire/). The team's growth comes from working on stretch projects they have an innate interest in and have the right base skill to build on.
Make time to coach your team. Especially during these pandemic times when many are working remotely. It can be easy to have an echo chamber and insignificant comments can amplify distorting the team's perspective. Take every opportunity to share good feedback to keep the team motivated.
It's ok if you don't do everything your employees can. Most inexperienced entry-level managers will have the most difficulty with this. This is the shift from tactics to strategy. Think about it this way, an effective coach doesn't need to have the same level of skill as their star players. But the stars benefit from having a great coach. You are there to think about the plan, guide the vision and clear roadblocks.
Optimize the skills of the team to tackle the work at hand. As you learn the unique skills of each of your team, you can start to match work to their skills. This is where the magic happens and 1+1=3
Here are the classes you typically find in MMORPG. Characters can fit squarely in a given glass or could sit on the edge of the class with some characteristics of another class. These unique blends are what make characters so interesting and special.
Brawler/Fighter
Characteristics: med attack / med defence / mixed range
Description: This is the reliable employee you typically don't have to worry much about. They deliver consistently excellent work (med attack) with a highly flexible skill set, doesn't get distracted, can manage time well, and know the value of the role they play (med defence). They are very comfortable rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty on tactically task or thinking big picture and dream up the future (mixed range).
Needs: For a manager, these types of employees are a godsend, and you may be tempted to spend little time developing this talent because they are doing fine on their own. Because they are strong in many categories, it may be hard for them to know what they actually love... because they are used to being the glue that fits into the gap/need that the team has at the moment. Help them find that special thing they love and you will unlock a superstar.
DPS / Glass Cannon
Characteristics: high attack / low defence / long-range
Description: When focused, gets a lot done in short bursts but not consistent. Delivers above expectations with surprises but again not consistently (high attack). If pulled in many directions can get frustrated or loses their confidence with setbacks (low defence). Likes to work on big vision projects (long-range).
Needs: Keep an eye on burnout from working crazy hours to get the job done. Help them with a clear organized plan. Remind them of their superpower and how to keep tapping into it. Since they like strategy, help them grow by involving them in developing the shared vision.
Tank
Characteristics: low attack / high defence / short range
Description: Competent and delivers on expectations. Likes to work on well-defined and well understood repeatable tasks (low attack). These are typically tactical but necessary (short range). Knows their area really well, an expert of sorts, and is confident in that area. Never flustered, never worried, which can keep the team centred (high defence) but can also infuriate when they don't seem to feel urgency.
Needs: They are good at what they do, but often the work is not seen as valuable and others tend to see them as a "steady Eddie". Help them grow, find a project they can call their own, and expand their skill set in an adjacent area. As they build up new skills have them take on some more visible projects to help showcase their value.
Healer
Characteristics: low attack / med defence / long range
Description: This is a special and unique employee that adds a lot of intangibles that makes the team better. They are the soul of the team. While competent at tactical tasks (low attack) they are tremendously helpful to other team members helping them think through problems, not from a technical perspective but a relationship or general process perspective. They are confident and seem to always know who can help solve the problem (med defence). They take the long view of the business and is the team's and company's conscience (long range).
Needs: To help this type of employee grow, tag team them on projects with someone that shines in other areas. They fill in each other's deficiencies and compliment each others skills. Together, they will excel and shine. Find an area that merges their many soft skills and an interest area for the development of some additional skills that can make them even more valuable.
There are many more possible combinations. In terms of large buckets, this is a good place to start. Remember you always have to adjust for the uniqueness of the individual employee.
I wanted to make the topic more fun and approachable. One the first books that got me interested in studying leadership was a book called Make it So: Leadership lessons from Start Trek the next generation by Wess Roberts. I hope to inspire other to aspire to be a better leader. It was a fun writing experiment. I hope you had fun reading this. Share in the comments some examples of other character classes you have encountered.
